Standing weatherproof seam for felt roofing.



' H. VON UFFEL. STANDING WEATHEBPROOF SEAM FOR FELT ROOFING. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, I914- Patented June 22, 1915. 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTIOE d W Y m W ATTORNEYS H. VON UFFEL.

STANDING WEATHERPROOF SEAN! F 0R FELT ROOFING.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23. 1914.

1,144,265 I PatentedJune 22,1915.

2 SHEET SSHEET 2- A TTOR/VEYS States, filed April 8,

.35 strip being extended beyond one end of the provision of a means which may mal and EiVZLlLi-lBLE COPY UNITED STATES re rizn'r orn on.

HERMAN von UFFEL, or rHILAnELPHxA, PENNSYLVANIA.

To all whom it may aonrem; L Ile it known that I, HERMAN you Urrn a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the [county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Standing Weatherproof Seam for Felt Roofing. of which the following is a full, clear, an exact description his invention relates to roof coverin s made of felt, tar, or asphalt material, and'lt relates particularly to joints or seams between adjacent strips, which joints are of the character set forth in my pending application for Letters Patent of the United 1914, Serial Number The general object of the present invention is to im rove the cap construction for the joints, w ereby the caps can be easily and quickly a. plied without the need of nails or other asteners which penetrate the roofing material, and yet the caps are firmly retained in place in a manner to prevent wrinkling or buckling of the roofing matepermit of expansion and contrac tion.

Another object of the invention is the cap strip comprisin a core of wood or metal and a covering of t j e same material with which the roof is covered, so as to 1protect the material of the core and give tie appearance of sameness-to the entire roof, as well as to provide an attractive construction,the covering material for each core so as to form a socket into which the end of another strip is-adapted to fit when two or more strips are necessary to form a cap piece for a long joint.

he invention has as a further object the provision of novel. and effective clamping side of the cap strip when the core is made of wood, or which may bcembodicd in the strip when the core made of sheet metal, as t e clamping means is of such shape that it will tightly'grip under the hcad'of the base strip of the joint after the roof covering pieces of felt are lapped over and formed on the base strip. The clamping means is so designed as to provide for easy expansion and contraction of the roof inatcrial under temperature variations, as 011 opposite sides of the base strip ample space is provided directly under the head and Specification of Letters Patent.

App lipation filed June 23, 1914. Serial No. 846,762.

Initting the parts which will be set forth be applied to-the under STANDING WEATHERPROOF SEAMIOB FELT ROOFING.

. Patented June 22, 1915.

above thebottom of the base strip for perroofing material to expand same time the roofing material is in constant bearing with the bottom of the base section, so that the wet snow and ice on the roofing material will not have a fracturing tendency.

Sti 1 another object of the invention is the provision of a cap strip which is provided on its under side with a plurality of clamping or retaining members that are normally approximately fiat so that the under side of the cap strip can be used as a mold, die or former to shape'thc overlapping edges of the roofin material to the base strip of the joint, and thereafter the said clamping members can be bent by a suitable tool downwardly into embracing, engagement with the covered head portion of the base strip.

With such, objects in view, and others which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of with particudescription and while at the larity in the following claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain embodiments of the invention, and wherein similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of a roof covered with felt, tar or asphalt material and embodying the improved joint; Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the under side of a cap strip for the joint; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a cap strip with a different form of clamping means; ig. 4 is' a longitudinal. section of a cap strip made in section; Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 5-5, Fig. 1; Fig.

6 is a sectional view through a joint, show-' form of cap; Fig. 10 is a fragmentary porspcctivc View of the blanks of which he cap in Fig. -9 is constructed; Fi 1]. 1S a snniliir view showing the corean covering pieces bound together; Fig. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view of the completed cap strip shown in Fig. 9; and Fig. 13 is a longitudinal section of a joint between two cap strips.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a roof made of boards 1 in the usual manner and covering the roof are strips of felt,

asphalt or tar roofing, which strips are designated 2, 3, 4,- 5, in Fig. 1, and B are the joints between adjacent strips. Each joint comprises a wooden base strip b and a cap strip 12, which operate to form an u standing waterproof seam or joint. .1 6

base strip, as shown in Fig. 5, comprises a rounded head 6, a reduced web 7 and a base 8. The lateral portions 9 of the base slope outwardly and downwardly on curves approximately continuous with the roof surface 10, and the side portions 11 of the head'fi considerably overhang the web 7 of the base strip. The marginal portions 2 will have a substantial support on the base of the base strip 1) while the vertical marginal portions will be free or spaced from the web 7 to rovide for expansion and contraction without wrinkling. Itwillbe understood that the base strips 12' will be secured directly to the boards 1 of the roof,

as by means of nails 13, and the base strips will be placed parallel with each other the proper distance apart, and after the roofing material is laid and formed on a base strip the cap strip 1) is then applied.

The cap strips are secured in place without nails or equivalent fastenings, since each strip includes or embodies clamping means which embraces the head 6 ofa basestrip. In the construction shown in Figs.

1, 2 and 4 the under side of the cap strip is provided with U-shaped clamps or gripping clipsl l, made of copper, brass orany other non-rusting material, and the jaws 15 of the chps are so shaped as to extend downwardly along the side portions of the head 6 of'the base strip'a'nd to grip under the botto of the head to the desired extent, to provi e the proper holding grip. These clips or clamps 14: are secured in any snitable manner, 'as for instance, by tacks 16.

. In Fig. 3 the channel-shape clamping element 14 is provided, which may beas long asthe cap strip to perform the same function as the clips 14 of Fig. 2. The cap strips b may be constructed with a wooden core 17, as shown in Figs. 1 to 8 -inc1usive,' and mclosed in a protective covering 18, which is preferably of roofing material to correspond with the material that covers the roof, so that not only is painting of the cap strip j dispensed with, but a neat and pleasing apearance is obtained, because of the uniormity of the material and color. In order to make a complete cap for a long joint it may be necessary to employ a plurality of strips, and therefore to provide a simple and eifective waterproof joint between the strips, covering material 18 extends beyond 'the core 17 at one end so as to form a'socket 19, as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, and

into this socket the end 20 of an adjacent cap strip can be entered. The covering material 18 being pliable and stretchable will enable the socket 19 to enlarge as the end 20 of an adjacent strip is entered, and to facilitate the making of the joint a workman can stretch the covering 18 at the socket 19 so as to more readily accommodate the end of the adjacent strip to be entered. In the modification shown in Fig. 6 the jaw members 15 are formed with internal beads or rolls 15* that are so disposed-as toengage under the head 6 ,of the base section b and 1 thereby insure an effective grip and facilitate the slipping of the clamp or clip on the head.

The core 17 has its upper and under surfaces approximately concentric with the upper surface of the head 6 of the base section b, and consequently the under side of the cap strip can be used as a mold-or die for shaping the marginal edges of the roofing strips to the head 6 of the base strip 1). For this purpose the clamps or clips 14", Fig. 8, are normally flattened out, so that the ends will not interfere with a back-and forth or rocking motion of the cap strip on the base strip after the roofing material is laid. This use of the. ca -piece will serve to bend down theedges o the roofing material on the head fi and give the proper shape without" danger of breaking or fracturing the fibers. 'After the edges of the roofing material are formed and while the cap-piece is still in position, a suitable tool is employed to bend down the gripping portions 14 of the clamping elements 14", as

shown by dotted lines in Fig. 7. 7

Instead of using a wooden core, as above described, the core of the cap strip may be made of a piece of sheet metal 21 with a covering 22 of roofing material. These two -pieces 21 and 22 are preferably laid one on the other, as shown'in Fig. 10, and the side.

edges 23 of. he metal piece,-which is wider than the covering piece 22, are bent over the. edges 21 of the covering material, as shown in Fig. 11-, and the two pieces thus bound together are shaped'in a suitable bending and roll-forming machine into the form shown in Fig. 2.12, wherein the internal beads or rolls 25 form spring aws which engage under the a firm clamping. action is provi ed in the body of the cap itself. In order to join cap strips together of the form shown in Fig.12, so as to form a cap-piece for a long joint, the end of a lower cap-piece telescopes into an end of an-upper cap-piece so as to form a telescoping jointshown in Fig. 13.

In forming joints between strips of roofing material after the plan herein suggested, it will be clear that the joints can be easily, quickly and effectively made without resorting to nails, except to fasten the base strips to the roof, and nevertheless a firm, tight and weatherproof seam is provided without requiring the use of cement or other waterproof materials. Another advantage is that the joints will have the same color as the roof,since the cap strips are covered with roofing material, and painting of the cap strips is dispensed with. The roofing material will be always kept smooth and straight, independently of the shrinking of the roof boards, and, furthermore, buckling and wrinkling is prevented by reason of the provision made at the jointsfor expansion .and contraction of the roofing material.

Fromthe foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the seam strips fastened to the invention appertains, and while l have described thestructure which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the structure shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be madewhen' desired as are within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination of a roof, pieces of pliable roofing material covering the same, roof at the joints between adjacent pieces, each strip having a base'provided with rounded side surfaces, a relativelynarrow web above the base, and a head wider than the web, the edges of the roofing pieces being bent upwardly at the sides of the strips and engaging the sides of the base and the head, and

lng-meansengaging under the head to clamp the roofing material thereto while permitting the said material at both sides of the Web to move inwardly and outwardly with the expansion and contraction of the roofing material.

2. The combination of a roof, strips of roofing material thereon, and an upstanding joint between the edges of the said strips,

said joint comprising an upstanding seam strip formed with a base, a web and a head, the edges of the roofing strips being bent upwardly at opposite sides of the seam strip and contacting with the base and head thereof, and a cap strip of channel-shaped cross-section whereby the under side thereof forms a mold for bending the edges of the roofing strip down on the topof the head of the seam strip, said ca strip having means for engaging the un er side of the head while the roofing strips are free from the web.

3. The combination of a roof, strips of roofing material thereon, andan upstanding joint between the edges of the said strips, said joint" comprising an upstanding seam strip formed with a base, a web and a head, the edges of the roofing strips belng bent upwardly at opposite sides of the seam strip and contacting with the base and head with a head at its top, the edges of the roofing strips being bent nlpwardly along the sides of the seam stri', and a channel shaped metal cap piece having its side portions yielding toward and from each other and formed with internal beads arranged to engage 'the roofing material and clamp it to the-under side of the head of the seam strip, the side members of the cap strip forming clamping members. to'hold the cap strip in place. I i i f 5. A cap strip for ,hn upstanding'seam of roofing material of the clas described, comprising a metal piece curve into channel shaped cross-section to form side members which are yielding toward and from each other, the edges of the side members being formed with internal heads, the combination with a'seam strip having side surfaces under whichzthe be'pds are engaged, and strips .of pliable roofing material having their edges bent upwardly along the sides of the seam strip, and said edges being clamped against /the side surfaces of the said strip by the said internal beads.

6. A cap strip/for aseam of the class de Y scribed, comprising a piece of metal, and a piece of roofing material narrower than the metal and overlying the latter, the edges of the metal being turned over the edges of the roofing material, said pieces being bent to form together a cha nnel-shaped strip.

7. Acap'pie gf'or a seam of the class described, compn ing a piece of mgtal, and a strip of pliable roofing material narrower than the strip of metal, the edges of the metal being bent over the edges of the roofing strip, the edge portions of the strips hem curled into beads, and the strips being owed outwardly at theside opposite from the bead, whereby the cap piece 1s of channel-shaped cross-section, with the beads disposed internally thereof.

8. A cap strip for a seam of the class de scribed, comprising a sheet metal core, and a covering of pliable roofing material, said covering and core being bent into a channelshape strip having internal rolls or beads.

a 9, A cap strip for a seam of the class described, comprising a piece of sheet metal shaped into channel cross-section and having internalbeads or rolls at opposite sides and a covering of pliable waterproof material.

10. A cap strip for aseam of the class described, comprising a piece of roofing material, a sheet metal piece wider than the first-mentioned piece and having its edges bent over the edges of-the roofing material to bind the pieces together, and the bound pieces being bent into channel-shape crosssection and formed with internal beads extending longitudinally of the channel.

In testimonywhereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERMAN yon UFFEL.

lVitnesses: I

CHATTER BRADWAY, Gnome 'H. EMsLIE. v 

